CommentaryAt last, McNair puts his finger on the trigger

Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, January 5, 2011

On-the-field production will determine whether Gary Kubiak retains his position with the Texans after next season.

On-the-field production will determine whether Gary Kubiak retains his position with the Texans after next season.

Photo: Karen Warren, Chronicle

Solomon: At last, McNair puts some pressure on Kubiak

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Can Gary Kubiak handle the pressure? Finally, if Texans owner Bob McNair's words are to be believed, Kubiak's job will be on the line.

And on-the-field production — translation: win or else - will determine whether Kubiak retains his position with the Texans after next season.

Imagine that. A football coach who actually has to win to keep his job. Welcome to the NFL, Gary. Apart from Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, Kubiak probably has had the least amount of pressure to win of any NFL coach.

Up to this point in his tenure, Kubiak has had little reason to believe he would be fired for not winning games. On some level, Kubiak, like all coaches, expected that was the case, but that point was never made explicitly.

McNair has been like the parent who always threatened to "go get the belt" but never went and got the belt, let alone put it to use. Actually, McNair never even threatened to go get the belt, did he?

With last year's contract extension, McNair's punishment for Kubiak being average was akin to raising a curfew-breaking teen's allowance or throwing an ice cream party for a C-minus student.

Kubiak and general manager Rick Smith have been allowed to make decisions with the future in mind - drafting an undersized teenager to play defensive tackle, going with a combination of cornerbacks who had little or no experience, deciding that "Pay me Rick" would never get paid - because they seemed to think progress was more important than victory.

They have been so comfortable as a team hierarchy you'd think they were a perennial playoff team or something.

It is McNair's fault. If you don't demand that your employees show up on time, you can rest assured they are likely to come trickling in whenever they see fit.

Maybe that's why McNair didn't go Michael Corleone on Monday and settle all family business as he should have. Instead, he just whacked a few defensive assistants.

For this surgical strike to work going forward, Kubiak has to be better in 2011 than he has been in his previous five years on the job.

First things first

He should start by hiring the best available defensive coordinator. The idea that the best defensive coordinator has to be a former head coach is shortsighted and more of an indicator that a naïve McNair will fall for the "I ran out of gas" excuse from a teenage delinquent.

Didn't Kubiak tell McNair that Smith and Frank Bush were the right men for the job? What was his explanation on Monday when he fired Bush? The dog ate my homework?

Wade Phillips might be the right person for the job, but if the Texans don't have a legitimate interview process and bring in some of the top available minds, we will know that McNair's threat to go get the belt is only a threat.

McNair should make Smith lead the search - obviously Kubiak has no idea what to look for in a defensive coordinator - with the understanding that the wrong hire gets everybody fired.

McNair should also tell Kubiak to relinquish play-calling duties. Game management is something Kubiak has struggled with since he took over as head coach five seasons ago.

That was to be expected. There is a learning curve in moving from an assistant with no power, as Kubiak was for years with the Broncos, to decision-maker.

With the Texans changing characters and character, there wasn't exactly a rush to bring in a top NFL head coach. Characters have been changed, and though it pains many of you to admit it, character has been changed.

The Texans need a top NFL head coach for those characters and that character to lead to victory, but since McNair isn't going to hire one this year, Kubiak has to be that guy.

Kubiak's self-evaluation could be key to the Texans next season. He has to figure out a way to minimize his mistakes. There have been clock blunders, substitution issues and replay fiascoes.

Blooper reel

There is no shortage of situations in which Kubiak has been unaware of what was really going on in a game because he was too busy planning for the next play.

In one instance at Indianapolis this season, he was so consumed with getting in his third-and-short play that he said he hadn't thought about what he would do on forth down.

Against San Diego, Kubiak thought the Texans needed half a yard to get a first down when they needed almost 2.

That is partly because he has too much on his plate. (Insert your own joke about that menu of plays he orders from.)

The day-to-day grind, game-planning, quarterback coaching, etc. is too much for him to handle. There is no shame in that.

Kubiak is among the best offensive coordinators in the business. If he wants to do that, he should go get a job as an offensive coordinator.

If he wants to be a head coach, he needs to lead both sides of the ball.

This season, the pressure started to build and Kubiak started thinking perhaps his job really was in jeopardy.

His team responded by winning two of its last 10 games, with the two victories coming against scrub quarterbacks Rusty Smith and Trent Edwards.

The heat was on, and Kubiak's Texans crumbled.

This year, in the first week of January, McNair has threatened to go get his belt if that happens again.